06 July 2010

Indian Food - Waffled


This is genius.
I love my waffle maker. Until now, however, I had only used it to make, well, waffles. Last night, however, during an epic hour of link-following, I found my way from my favorite food-porn site to a site about weird and innovative maps to the Waffleizer. He's decided to find 30 answers to the question, "Will it waffle?" And I'm determined to try as many of them as I can, being vegetarian and whatnot.
Once I started ruminating, waffling things seemed like a brilliant and obvious idea. Pros: dynamic cooking from both sides at the same time. In mine at least, it's hard to burn things. My non-stick waffle maker is incredibly easy to clean up. And cooking times are shortened when cakes are forced to become thin and in direct contact with the heat. On top of all that, making random things in a waffle-maker is just plain cool.
I love Indian food but am often intimidated by it. However, the Waffleizer post on Aloo Parantha (aloo means potato, parantha literally means "layers of cooked flour" and is a type of Indian flatbread), with its gorgeous photos and thorough directions, encouraged me to try it. If the crazy waffle guy can do it, I can too, right?
Right.
After about an hour of prep, these little disks were ready to go into the waffle iron. A quick spray of oil and 3 to 4 minutes and they were on our plates, eagerly consumed with a spoonful of cilantro sauce.
They are probably the best-tasting Indian food I've ever made, and definitely the coolest.
The recipe is here, along with other great waffling ideas.

01 July 2010

Chocolate, Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Bread

Another migas recipe - this one for dessert! Taking the Spanish stir-fried bread crumbs in a new direction, subbing blueberries (which don't exist in Aragón at least!) for the grapes and cinnamon for the paprika. Five ingredients, five minutes, and you'll have a flavorful dish in front of you. Use dark chocolate chips and it's vegan.

Blueberry Dessert Migas
For two servings:
2 slices white bread, grated
1 generous teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon olive oil, more or less
1/2 cup blueberries
2 tablespoons chocolate chips (or shavings if you are feeling fancy)
1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add cinnamon and bread crumbs. Stir until bread crumbs are golden but still soft.
2. Remove to plate and sprinkle the chocolate chips and blueberries on the hot migas. Let sit for a minute and the chocolate chips and definitely shavings will melt, then serve!